Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Maryland

I have been in a dispute against my former landlords for over a year. A maintenance worker busted a pipe in the apartment above mine. I tried suing the company listed on my lease, but the judge said that I was not suing the correct party. I pulled the tax records which contained the name of an affiliate and sued them, however the judge said that I failed to prove they were the responsible party because the tax map only showed the address for the management office and not the specific address of my apartment. The State Department of Assessments and Taxation does not have a tax map that shows my specific address, but when I asked who pays the taxes for the apartment I lived in, it was the company that I sued. My question is, what documentation can I get to show the connection between my apartment and the company that pays the taxes? I thought of performing a title search but that can be expensive. My case is only for $2000.


Asked on 3/03/10, 7:40 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Cedulie Laumann Arden Law Firm, LLC

In most cases you can conduct discovery, that is, a formal process of asking questions that must be answered under oath or requesting documents from the other side. Once a lawsuit has been filed you can ask the party you sued to answer questions. A plaintiff can also request documents from the defendant, including ownership and other tax documents.

Deeds are filed in the Land Records of each county and usually are the most straightforward way to prove ownership. It is not clear from your post why a judge indicated you sued an incorrect party. Could it be that you identified an agent of the owner instead of the owner/landlord itself?

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Answered on 3/13/10, 10:44 am


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